On Friendly Wings
by The Wayward Typhoon
Summary: Aster Mauve helps his teammate Dorian Aguilas heal… in more ways than one. (Rated T for implied violence)


**A/N: One of my friends commissioned me to write a story about her OCs for her birthday. This is the result. Enjoy!**

Dorian winced as the disinfectant hit the wounds on her wing.

Aster gently held it in place as he continued to treat her. "Yep, that's the sting I mentioned. Don't worry, Dori, it'll pass."

The young Faunus had been attacked an hour ago by bullies in the courtyard. They had thrown her to the ground, attacking her as a means of "clipping her wings."

"I'm just… lucky you were there," she sighed, as Aster applied the bandages. "I was worried that… that they'd have killed me."

"Even if I wasn't there to fight 'em off, none of those cowards would have risked murdering a classmate."

"You're right…"

"Us Faunus gotta stick together, and all that."

Dorian slightly laughed at this, despite herself.

"Ah, there's the Dorian I know and love."

Aster had soon patched up her wings, and as she tried to spread them, he stopped her.

"No offense, Dori, but you should probably keep those tucked away until you heal," he said. "I don't want you bleeding out on me."

Dorian laid herself down on the dorm bed, feeling crestfallen. "The very things I was almost killed for being proud of, I now have to hide. This… This…"

Aster pulled up a chair next to her. "It sucks, huh?"

"It sucks big-time!" Dorian rolled herself over, planting her face in the pillow. "My whole life, these wings were all I had to be proud of. And now…"

"Well, that's just a load."

She turned to look at her partner. "Wh… What do you mean?"

Aster scoffed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What I mean is you have a lot about yourself to be proud of. You're intelligent, skilled, DAMN good with that scepter of yours… and pretty good-looking too. You've got a lot to be proud of, Dori. So be proud, would you?"

Dorian smiled, placing her hand on top of his. "Thank you, Aster. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"Everyone needs to hear something like that at least once," he said, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"I tell myself something like that every morning… but it feels better hearing it from you."

Aster shrugged. "It's just sapient nature. We're wired to believe what we tell ourselves less than what others tell us."

"Just a shame so many others have told me I was worthless… and even when they didn't I just… always let them down." Dorian's expression turned melancholy as she turned her head away.

Aster blinked, confused. He had never heard her say anything like that before. "…What do you mean?"

Dorian sighed. "Neither of my parents were Faunus. But apparently, because of a precise combination of recessive genes, they begat me. A Faunus. Because of my wings, my parents naturally assumed that I was some kind of… angel, I guess. Sent from the heavens to deliver them from the demons of Grimm."

Tears began to pool in her eyes. "And then came the bandits… and then the Grimm… I was only eight when my mother died… torn apart in front of me by Beowolves…" She began to openly sob. "Begging me to save her… But I just couldn't…"

Aster took her into a soft, but firm hug, which she accepted as her tears slowed.

"I was lucky a team of Huntsmen arrived when they did. One of them actually took pity on me… adopted me." Her hand clenched into a fist. "I swore from that day on that I wouldn't let anyone else die on my watch. That was the day I set out to become a Huntress."

"Quite a story," Aster mused, calmingly stroking her wings. "I'm surprised I've never heard it before."

Dorian pressed her cheek to Aster's chest. "I've never told _anyone_ before. Never felt close enough to anyone I've known to tell it…"

"You've only known me for about a year, Dorian. That's hardly say that's enough time to trust anyone enough to tell them… that."

"I know. But it's not just that."

Aster pulled back just a little. "Then what is it?"

Dorian sighed thoughtfully. "Well, I'll put it this way. When we first met, all I knew about you was that you had a baton-rifle for a weapon, and you were being attacked. That was all I needed to know at the moment. But since, by the rules, you were my partner, I had to know more about you to work together. How you fight, how you work, how you take your coffee… all those little things.

"And over this past year, I've come to know so much about you… all these little things that make you… and I think I've finally found the big picture. Not to sound too dramatic, but… I think I know who you are."

Aster tilted his head in curiosity. "Really? And who, pray tell, am I?"

Dorian cupped Aster's cheek in her hand. "You're the man I love."

He blinked once, twice, not quite processing what she had just said. "I… I'm what?"

She smiled, a blissful look in her eyes. "I love you. With all my heart and soul. I wasn't sure of it at first, but after what you did today… how close I was to never flying again, only for you to step in and save my life… there's no question of it in my mind. I am wholly, undeniably, irrevocably in love with you."

Aster was half shocked, half relieved. "…Really? Well… that's good." He smiled. "Because I love you too."

Dorian pulled her face closer to his, bringing their lips together. Aster wrapped his arms around her back, careful of her wings.

When they finally pulled away, it was as though the rest of the world had disappeared, and there was only them. They embraced once more, and stayed that way for what felt like hours, simply enjoying each other's company.

And for once… Dorian truly felt like an angel.


End file.
